Regal Burden
by HeyBats
Summary: Diana's long awaited return to Themyscira requires a battle against some of the Amazon's most ancient enemies
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

There is an island paradise in the wide Saragasso Sea known as Themyscira. For thousands of years, the island has been home to the Amazons, an immortal race of female warriors. Created by Otrera, the Queen Goddess of the Amazons, she charged the Amazons with a mission to serve as an inspiration to male-dominated societies by promoting the ideals of peaceand tranquility. Originally settled in Pontus, a small city on the Aegean Sea, for centuries the Amazons successfully demonstrated the merits of these ideals, ultimately leading to the creation of democracy in the Athenian cultures. Oddly enough, while Man's World started accepting some of these ideals, the Amazons chose to remain a matriarchy, ruled by their Queen.

In 1200 B.C., the Amazon mission was compromised after Queen Hippolyta, the immortal daughter of Otrera, was seduced by the demi-god Herakles. As the bastard son of Zeus, the Gods required Herakles to perform 12 labors as penance for the death of a rival prince. The ninth labor required Herakles to steal Hippolyta's belt, it being a sacred gift from Hera to the Amazons.

Herakles reached Pontus on a ship called the Eurylus. Captained by Phylptus, a cunning prince who'd earned a fierce reputation as a leader of his Dorian pirates, the Eurylus sailed quietly into the Pontian harbor on the last whispers of an ebb-tide on a summer afternoon. Upon his arrival, Hippolyta was immediately smitten with Herakles. After hosting a feast in honor of a son of Zeus, she invited him to her bed later that night. In later years, many songs were written about the passion shared between the two lovers that night. In the morning Herakles stole away from the island with Hippolyta's belt safely tucked in his waistband, not realizing Phylptus and his Dorian pirate army had enslaved the Amazon nation while he sailed away.

The Amazonian enslavement lasted 15 years, but the experience was a humiliation from which the Amazons never recovered. The proud female warriors found themselves slaves and unwilling sexual partners of the Dorian pirates. Hippoylta herself was required to submit to Phylptus' whims on a daily basis, deepening her humiliation. Despite their agony, the Amazons worked constantly and with deep secrecy to fashion weapons. Seeing they were as well armed as their pirate captors. Hippolyta and her Amazonian Army broke free, turned and defeated the Dorian Army in an epic battle. The gods were impressed with the fortitude of the Amazons and offered Hippolyta the right to slaughter their former captors. However, in keeping with their original mission, the Amazons elected to forego their right of vengeance.

After their humiliation at the hands of the Dorians, the Amazons desired peace and rest from the weary toil of Man's World. They requested of the gods a place where they might heal in peace. The gods, mindful of the Amazons' compassion and bravery, created Themyscira. Magically transported away from Man's World, the women lived in tranquility for the next 800 years. . To protect the Amazons, the gods cloaked the island behind a magical barrier, thereby sheltering the island from prying eyes. Given their newfound distrust of men, Hippolyta decreed that any man found on the island would be immediately put to death, while any Amazon found guilty of bringing a man to the island would subsequently be banished from the society for eternity.

During the ensuing centuries, Themyscira grew to be accepted as a myth by the Western World, fueled only by occasional sightings of Amazon women, which were dismissed as delusions by the majority of the population. There was some truth to the rumors, of course, as the procreation of the tribe demanded new daughters. While Amazons were loath to leave the island, especially given their distrust, and sometimes hatred, of men, the procreation of their race demanded that women of childbearing age occasionally leave the island. Sailing vessels were maintained in order to provide safe transport to Man's World and upon arrival in that strange place, the Amazons located a suitable male demonstrating both physical and mental agility, traits highly favored by the Amazons. Seduction followed and upon conception of a child, an Amazon would immediately return to Themyscira. Female infants were kept in order to maintain the population, while male infants were transported off the isle and returned to the father.

Although men were not allowed on the island, male gods were exempt from that policy. Hades, lord of the Underworld, visited Themyscira and managed to seduce Queen Hippolyta. With the assistance of Ares, whose power increases from the strife caused by war, Hades betrayed his fellow gods by tricking Hippolyta into unlocking the earth-side portal to the Gates of Olympus. Once the Gates were open, Hades, the Dark Lords (including Circe) and an evil new generation of gods, the Titans, attacked Zeus and his family. For years the skies thundered as the gods battled for supremacy. After much bloodshed, Zeus and his family emerged from the war victorious. Zeus imprisoned Hades, Circe and the rest of the betrayers in the Pit of Tartarus, still unaware of Ares' treachery. As penance for their unwitting role in the war, the gods tasked the Amazons to guard the gateway to Tartarus for eternity. To aid this effort, the gods granted the Amazons immortality, thus obviating the need to procreate the race, as well as superhuman strength to aid them in their battles against the forces of evil.

In 500 A.D., Hippolyta begged Athena for a daughter, citing her lonely vigil over the Gates and the difficulty of shouldering that responsibility without an heir to the throne. Athena agreed to the request and instructed Hippolyta to mold the visage of a 6-year old out of clay. Once she brought the child to life, Athena granted the little girl the strength of Gaea, the speed of Mercury, the power of flight and two magical accessories, including bracelets which would deflect almost any weapon, as well as an unbreakable lasso, woven from the girdle of Gaea herself. She was named Diana.

For 1,500 years, Diana slowly matured until reaching the fullness of her womanhood. Trained to be the Amazon Champion, at the dawn of the new millennia in Man's World, Diana elected to leave Themyscira in order to help the heroes of Man's World defeat the Invaders, an alien species which laid siege to the Earth. Intrigued by the many pleasures (and horrors) of Man's World, Diana decided to form the Justice League along with Batman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, the Green Lantern, Flash and Hawkgirl. Her introduction to the foreign culture of Man's World was initially painful as her distrust of men led to a number of misunderstandings with her teammates. While friendly, her teammates generally viewed her as aloof, domineering and imbued with a superiority complex given her aristocratic upbringing.

As word of Diana's Amazonian origin spread, a sorcerer of the Dark Arts named Felix Faust subsequently penetrated the magical barrier surrounding Themyscira. He utilized an amulet to turn the Amazons to stone, then held the statues hostage until Diana retrieved the key to unlock the Gates of Tartarus in order to free Hades from the Pit.

Diana and the Justice League returned to Themyscira and ultimately defeated Faust and Hades, consigning them both to the Pit. The price of the victory was high, however, as Hippolyta decreed Diana had violated the most sacred Amazonian law by bringing men to the island. After the decorations were handed out, Hippolyta ruled Themysciran law required Diana's exile from the island for eternity.

Diana managed to leave the island with a grace befitting a Princess. She saved her tears until the Javelin-7 departed the island, then collapsed in the back seat of the plane, her anguish evident to all of her teammates. During the flight back to the Watchtower, her teammates (with the notable exception of Batman) tried to comfort her with meaningless platitudes she knew were well intended but otherwise fell on deaf ears. After filing out of the plane at the Watchtower's landing bay, Diana found it oddly comforting when Batman asked, "You going to be okay?" in his typically gruff manner, then departed without waiting for a reply. She later realized he was too embarrassed to wait for her reply, not wanting to demonstrate any emotional attachment to a teammate.

Abiding by the ruling without complaint, Diana did not attempt to contact her mother until two exceptional circumstances required her to do so. In the first instance, a rogue Amazon known as Aresia decided to take the Amazonian hatred of men to an extreme conclusion. Aresia was born in Man's World, arriving on Themyscira with the aid of a male sailor who sacrificed himself to rescue Aresia from a capsized ship. After synthesizing a viral strain specific to the male chromosome, she attempted to launch a viral attack against men on a global level, with a stated goal of decimating the species. As her male teammates succumbed to the virus, Diana, Hawkgirl and Hippolyta ultimately prevailed in battle against Aresia. Luckily, the women were able to locate Aresia's notes. They used the information to synthesize a cure, thereby saving their colleagues and the infected male population from certain death.

In the second instance, Superman was apparently killed by an energy weapon during a battle with Toyman. As the League prepared to mourn their friend's passing at a memorial service, Diana contacted her mother. Despite her exile, Diana requested she be allowed to wear her royal uniform at the funeral of a man who had been honored by the Amazons. In light of Superman's demonstrated heroism in the battle with Hades, Hippolyta granted the request, even visiting her daughter for a short period of time in order to deliver the regalia befitting a Princess of Themyscira. After the funeral, Diana briefly chatted with her Mother. The conversation was strained, however, as the women made small talk about everything except Themyscira. For Diana, it was yet another grim reminder that she would never return to the island.

For the next 18 months, Diana resigned herself to the fact that her home was now a distant, pleasant memory. Her only reminders of Themyscira came on separate occasions as Ares and Circe renewed their mischief in Man's World. To satisfy his hunger for the strife on which he fed, Ares stoked the flames of a civil war in Kasnia by supplying both sides with munitions. Diana was able to peacefully resolve the conflict, thereby denying Ares the precious strife.

A month later, Circe emerged from Tartarus. She spitefully turned Diana into a pig as a form of vengeance against Hippolyta and the rest of the Amazons for their role in imprisoning Circe after the War of the Gods. Given her royal background, Diana was mortified she'd been turned into a pig, especially in front of the man she had chosen to pursue romantically. The one positive result of the experience was her emerging certainty that Bruce, the Batman, cared for her more than he let on.

Confronted by Batman and Zatanna (a mage and League teammate), Circe demanded he sing to win Diana's freedom from pig-dom. Circle wrongly assumed that she could feed on the magic of his impending humiliation. Surprisingly, he serenaded the Amphitheatre at Mykonos in a well-tuned voice. After the confrontation, Zatanna replayed the image of Batman singing on her crystal ball for Diana, well aware that her teammates were in love. Diana capitalized on the opportunity and seduced Batman when they returned to the Watchtower the next day. While making love with a man (a mortal no less!) was contrary to her Amazonian training, Diana's new relationship with Batman further solidified her place in Man's World.

Given her newfound comfort in Man's World, Diana was floored by the irony four weeks later when J'onn received a garbled message from Hippolyta asking for the League's assistance.


	2. Chapter 1 Motivation

**Chapter 1 – Motivation**

Trained for thousands of years in ancient military techniques that mainly involved butchering an enemy at close range with a sword and shield, the Dorian's introduction to 21st century weaponry proved to be more difficult than either Ares or Circe could have ever imagined.

The use of the Dorian Army was one of unfortunate necessity. While Ares had spent a number of months trying to locate a suitable group of, as soon as the Amazon name was mentioned the prospective armies had turned tail and run. Ares had consulted Circe a month after she'd emerged from the Pit, lamenting his inability to locate a suitable armyShe reminded him that a Dorian Army thirty-two hundred years in the past had suffered defeat at the hands of the Amazons. The Dorians would be fueled by the one emotion able to turn a desperate battle into a victory: revenge.

Concentrating his energies, Ares opened a time portal and journeyed thirty-two hundred years into the past. He made a point to arrive two weeks after the Dorians were beaten by the Amazons, as they were still smarting from the defeat. The Dorians celebrated his arrival. Phylptus asked for a council of war and once the doors shut, begged Ares for a chance to avenge their loss. Ares initially refused to entertain the request, lamenting the poor performance of Phylptus' troops in battle. Phylptus grew more desperate by the hour as he begged Ares a chance to avenge the shame he'd felt when Hippolyta wielded a spear over his exposed throat just two weeks before.

Willing to do anything for a chance to put that same spear to the throat of the Amazon Queen, Phylptus produced a knife from his waistband and cut his palm deeply with one quick stroke. As the blood flowed from the wound, Phylptus swore a blood oath: he and his men would fight to the last man in their next battle with the Amazons. Satisfied he'd sufficiently roused the Dorians thirst for vengeance, Ares opened a portal to the future and the Dorian Army marched into the future.

Ares and his private army arrived on an abandoned military base on the eastcoast of Nicaragua. The effort left him exhausted After the Dorians recovered from the disorientation of time travel, an air cargo plane touched down on the airfield and delivered stacks of plasma energy rifles, mortars and even two pieces of plasma-fired artillery that would help the Dorians lay waste to Themyscira. Circe was surprised at the effort Ares had expended getting this army trained on the new equipment. As they watched the soldiers drill with their new weapons, Circe finally asked him about why he was so motivated to invade the Amazonian enclave.

"Covering my tracks, 2,400 years later," he replied proudly.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Zeus punished Hippolyta for being dumb enough to help Hades open the _Outer_ Gates to Olympus so you, the Dark Lords and Titans could gain entry, right? Lucky for me, they never bothered to investigate how the _Inner_ Gates just happened to be open that day."

"So you missed out on being sent to the Pit like the rest of us for 2,400 years." She interrupted. "But why wait so long to cover your tracks?"

"When Hades tried to escape the Pit two years ago, Zeus realized a lot of the fail-safe measures he'd put into place were at risk." Ares recalled, his face darkening as he realized the extent of his predicament. "He tasked Apollo to review security procedures. Being the thorough pain in the ass that he is, Apollo decided to review past failures in order to shed light on what went wrong in the past. That review concluded someone on Olympus opened the Inner Gates the day the Dark Lords stormed Olympus. If all of the Amazons, especially Hippolyta, end up on a slab, I'll be able to pin the blame on her. I already forged a journal where she confesses to the whole thing. If I don't pin the blame on her now, eventually Apollo will figure out who the Insider was and I'll spend eternity in the Pit. "

"So you're willing to sacrifice the entire race to ensure that you avoid your sentence?" she clapped with glee. "...and here I thought that I was the only one who had it in for those bitches! How can I help?"

"I need a spell on the weapons I'm giving to the Dorian Army." He replied with a wry smile. "As currently configured, they'll hurt the Amazons but they won't kill them. You can change that."

"As long as I can see Hippolyta's dead body and not get blamed for it, I'll give you every lost drop of power at my disposal," Circe replied. "Two thousand years in the Pit of Eternal Torment deserves some payback."

Two weeks later, Ares and Circe rode in on the last ship to disembark Dorian troops onto the dock jutting out into the Themysciran harbor. The journey across the Atlantic Ocean has been brutal as shifts in the weather required Ares to marshall his strength in order to keep them sailing towards their target. As they neared the island, Circe used her magic to create a fog, completely cloaking the flotilla's arrival. The stealthy approach provided the Dorian troops with valuable seconds they utilized to take-out the guards on manning the lookout towers near the sea-wall. As the soldiers poured from the ships down the wharf, advance platoons assumed strategic positions along the harbor. Finally, an alert lookout at last managed to trigger the alarm, but the Dorians had the advantage of surprise and ruthlessly killed the first squads of Amazons who responded to the alarm.

Ares and Circe stood on the pier an hour later, watching the battle unfold from a safe distance. They exchanged arrogant quips as to the stupidity of the Amazonian counter-attacks against the brutal firepower of their army, then spent even more time speculating how Hippolyta's head might look mounted on a stake.

****


	3. Chapter 2 PreFlight

**Chapter #2 - Pre-Flight**

The low buzzing emitting from the pager on the bedside table was normally loud enough to wake Batman (normally a very light sleeper) from the deepest depths of sleep. However, this morning was not typical by any means. The room in which he slept was unfamiliar. When his hand shot out from under the covers to grab the offending instrument, he accidentally knocked it onto the floor under the bed.

"Shit!" he muttered, still drowsy.

"What is it?" Diana's perky voice floated from the other side of the bed.

He briefly considered an array of sarcastic replies, specifically referencing the inability of the rest of the human race to arise in the same, perky manner as Diana so early in the morning. Bruce bit his tongue, reminding himself that he wasn't really dealing with a normal human being.

"My pager," he responded gruffly, swinging his legs off the bed before reaching down to search the floor. Bruce finally located it on his third attempt, then settled back on the bed. He deftly flicked the 'send' button on the pager to display the test message, which lit up Diana's darkened bedroom on the Watchtower.

"I can't believe you can read that." Diana whispered with a trace of amusement. She wiggled over to his side of the bed, then snuggled her naked form against his. She quickly slipped into her favorite position against him, draping her leg over his, then rested her chin on his chest. Diana wickedly ran her hand down to his groin to see if a certain part of his anatomy was at attention. She lightly caressed him with her hand, studying his face for a reaction to her stimulus. His eyes briefly danced away from the pager in response to her ministrations, asking an unstated question. Her mouth closed to a small grin as she remembered a particularly intense experience shared by the two of them in that very bed a few hours before. She cocked her head coyly, deciding to pretend that she wasn't stroking him at that very second so she focused on the pager, "Then again, anyone who's spent the last 15 years in that Cave can probably read Shakespeare by moonlight."

Her soft expression grew more serious though when she saw his eyes squint in surprise as he read the final text. He did a quick double take at the contents of the message before handing the pager to her. "Suit up." He said roughly, sliding out from underneath her.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting upright for the first time. She played with the buttons on the pager for a moment but couldn't make it work correctly. "I can't read it," Diana stated with a pout, exasperated more at the fact that Bruce had exited her bed without so much as a good morning kiss instead of the fact that she couldn't get the pager to work. She sat back on his pillows, appreciating the sight of his naked body scurrying around the room. He grumbled under his breath, looking for pieces of his costume strewn about the floor. Her brow arched lightly then she wrinkled her nose in apology. "Sorry, I wasn't worried about folding your uniform neatly last night. You didn't exactly complain about it at the time."

He bent over to reach for one of his boots under the bed and Diana perked up in order to get a better look at his sculpted rump. The motion caused the covers to peel away from her body, exposing her generous breasts. He stole a quick glimpse at her body as he suited up into the Batman costume, nearly complete as he secured the cape to his shoulders. She coyly returned his gaze down to her chest, and patted the bed with her hand.

"Come back to bed, lover." Diana whispered huskily. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Diana, I'd love to, but the message said something about your mother. She's in trouble."

"My mother?" She gasped, throwing herself off the bed in search of her uniform. Diana had secured it on a valet the previous evening and quickly fastened the breastplate around her torso, taking care to snugly secure her breasts inside the garment before closing the final clasp. She was in the middle of securing the tiara to her head when she stopped and looked at Batman. "If my mother's in trouble, why did J'onn page you?"

Batman considered her analysis for a moment, then replied, "He's a telepath but more importantly, he's observant. I assume he figured it out on his own."

Two minutes later they emerged from her quarters. Diana stealthily peeked her head out into the corridor. Seeing none of their teammates, she gave Batman the all-clear sign, rolling her eyes as she waved him forward. Diana suspected most of the League knew they had been sharing a bed for the last few weeks (the whispers and surreptitious glances thrown her way during meetings were a dead giveaway). A few days before (after a particularly memorable sexual experience) she voiced her desire to reveal their relationship to the League. Bruce requested they maintain their secrecy until they'd managed to sort out whether their 'relationship' was going to be a casual fling or something more long-term. Until an appropriate opportunity presented itself to make an official announcement (which she assumed probably meant the day the sun went supernova), he'd requested in the meantime they maintain their secret.

Diana was initially hurt by his request. She took great pride in the fact that the two of them had managed to find (and more importantly love) each other, but she realized that his penchant for secrecy was one of the reasons he'd managed to survive the 'never-ending-battle' against meta-humans. Diana ultimately honored his request but still felt unnecessarily guilty whenever she did 'the walk of shame' from the Manor or his quarters on the Watchtower, sneeking around like teenagers instead of superheroes.

He emerged from the doorway a split second later, rubbing the stubble on his jaw-line as he walked next to her towards the Monitor Womb. They made the journey in silence, during which time Bruce slipped a hand into his utility belt and produced a miniature electric shaver he used to remove the stubble.

"A Bat-shaver?" she asked, watching the process unfold before her with a laugh.

"No, miniature Norelco. Tim gave it to me for my birthday," he replied with a grunt. She smiled at the surreal image of Batman using an electric shaver (especially a sexually satiated Batman who'd just emerged from her bed) but that warm image was fleeting. Her mind was racing, trying to imagine all of the possible dangers confronting her mother. Twenty seconds later, they made the final turn from the residential wing to the Great Hall, which housed the Monitor Womb one level above. As it was 4:30 in the morning, only J'onn was on Monitor Duty. The rest of the Hall was empty of League members or even the support personnel who operated the transporters. Given that J'onn had already determined the two of them were in a relationship, Bruce and Diana dropped any pretense they weren't dating and strode into the Womb side by side instead of staggering their arrivals. J'onn nodded "Good morning" to each of them, then handed them each a latte before commencing his briefing.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," J'onn murmured in his deep baritone. "Diana, five minutes ago I received this video message from your Mother." He flicked the nearest switch on the console and Hippolyta's face appeared on the screen. Her demeanor was calm, as befitting a Queen, however Diana could tell by the expression in her eyes that the situation was desperate. A trace of soot was clearly visible on her neck and her clothes were disheveled, illustrating that she was already involved in battle.

"Diana, I don't have much time. Fifteen minutes ago a Dorian Army led by Phylptus landed on our shores. They're armed with some kind of energy weapons I don't recognize...our shields are barely able to defend us..." An explosion rocked the ground behind the Queen and Diana cringed as her mother tried to duck the debris raining down on her position. "Please help us..." The image suddenly disappeared and J'onn turned to face them.

"That is all she managed to send." J'onn stated, a touch of sympathy evident in his voice. "Who would you like to take on this mission?"

"Who's on active duty this morning?" Diana replied automatically, the anger visible on her face. Both J'onn and Batman knew her attention was drawn elsewhere as she stepped to the console to replay the image.

"Flash and Aquaman are on call. Of course we could activate the rest of the League, should you so require," J'onn stated impassively.

"Tell Orin to bring his trident. We may need it. The four of us should be adequate to assess the situation," Batman replied tersely, watching as J'onn keyed the buttons to call their two teammates. "We'll call for backup if we need it. Let's go."

Batman ushered Diana out of the Womb towards the launch-bay housing her Invisible Jet. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked, her face tightening in anger.

"Makes sense. Circe vowed not to touch your mother when we battled, but she didn't say anything about bringing the Dorian Army back to re-conquer the Amazons. Any other candidates?"

"If it's her, I owe that witch a one-way ticket back to Tartarus." Diana replied grimly. "What about Ares? I stopped him in Kasnia... he might be holding a grudge over that. The Dorians worshipped him as their patron God so that might make sense."

Flash and Orin were waiting for them at the launch pad. "No teleporters?" Flash asked.

"I'm not sure if they can penetrate the barrier around the island. Besides, I don't want us to appear in the middle of the battlefield so that some hot-head can try to fry us before we go solid." Batman replied.

"My thinking exactly." Orin stated as they ran towards the jet. "Let's roll!"

The departure from the Watchtower was relatively quiet as they powered up the avionics in the Invisible Jet. After that, all hell broke loose. As the maintenance workers rolled the Jet out of the hangar towards the launch bay, Diana (seated in the pilot chair) and Batman (seated in a fold-out jump seat immediately to her right) studied the three-dimensional navigational chart of their position. They realized the Watchtower was passing almost directly over Themyscira. They traded glances and without saying a word, re-computed the flight path. One second after launch, Diana initiated a retro-burn, halting most of their forward velocity (almost 12,500 miles per hour) in less than two minutes. The passengers were pinned in their seats under 9 G's (nine times the force of normal gravity) until the burn was complete, then they went weightless for a few seconds. Its forward momentum depleted by the burn, the craft dropped directly out of orbit. Diana pointed the nose of the craft towards the Earth and started a quick descent into the lower atmosphere at Mach 10.

Orin looked outside the windows and realized the leading edge of the wings were starting to glow bright red due to the friction of the atmosphere building up on the underside of the plane. He realized that his feet were actually getting warm from the heat and he looked over to Flash for reassurance. "Re-entries are always done like this, right?"

"First time for me." Flash responded in a yelp, wiping his forehead to clear the beads of sweat pouring from underneath his mask.

"Sorry about the ride." Diana intoned calmly from the front-seat. "It would have taken us another hour to get to Themyscira if we performed our normal de-orbit burn."

"Is this type of re-entry safe?" Orin asked, noting that they were descending almost vertically towards the surface of the Earth. He repeated the question as he heard the sound of the wing spars groaning under the intense pressure, noting that he'd heard similar sounds from sinking submarines reacting to the first signs of metal fatigue.

"I think Bats is the only one who can attest to that." Flash replied with mounting panic as he watched beads of molten metal flasch off the surface of the wings. "That didn't exactly work out well for our last Watchtower, you know?"

"Calm down, Flash." Batman barked. "We'll be on Themyscira in four minutes."

"Orbit to ground in seven minutes?" Flash groaned. "I thought only I could go that fast."

Orin sat in his seat, trying his best to maintain the composure of the Atlantean King, or at least maintain his ideal of how the Atlantean King should be viewed by others, when he decided to pursue that thread of conversation a bit further. "What happened to the last Watchtower? I saw pictures of it on the wall of the commissary, but no one ever told me what happened."

"Bats de-orbited it on top of the Thanagarians." Flash responded with a laugh. "J'onn and I thought we were going to bury roasted bat but somehow Supes got him out right before the Big Bang."

"Is that true?" Orin asked the pointy-eared figure seated in front of his chair.

There was no response. Orin looked at Flash with a question poised on the tip of his tongue but Flash interrupted him before he could speak.

"It's a bit of a sore subject for him. Having to acknowledge that he's suicidal doesn't sit well with him."

"Shut up, Flash." Diana said sharply. She snuck a quick glance over at Batman to see if he would acknowledge his actions aboard the Watchtower that day, but he maintained his stoic silence. Diana returned her gaze on the heads-up display projected on the interior of the canopy. She leveled the craft's speed off at Mach 5, trimming the altitude at 75,000 feet as they raced towards Themyscira.

"ETA one minute," she called to her passengers. "I'm going to bring us directly over the island, scan with the camera to see what we're up against, then bring us back on top of the waves in case they're well equipped."

"We have to assume that they are very well equipped to do what they've done so far." Batman observed. "They might have overrun the entire island by now."

"Whatever they're armed with, it won't be easy for them to overrun my sisters." Diana retorted sharply, "Especially if they're Dorians. We still owe them for the fifteen years of slavery they took from my sisters."

"Scanning in 3, 2, 1, Now...." Batman replied, not bothering to debate Diana as to the likely status of her tribe. They would know soon enough. Batman slaved the digital camera mounted underneath the Invisible Jet to the on-board computer, which immediately scanned the pictures for life-signs in the infra-red spectrum. There was a large population of humans surrounding the Great Palace while smoke and flame poured from the surrounding structures. The signature pulses of energy discharges were evident every few seconds, interrupted by larger pulses which Batman surmised were probably a form of grenade or mortar.

Diana eased back on the throttle, then pulled the plane into an Immelman, utilizing the maneuver to descend from 75,000 feet to 250 feet off the surface of the ocean in less than a minute. She watched the mach meter dip below Mach one then locked the throttles at 650 miles per hour, the fastest speed the jet could maintain without announcing their presence to the Dorians with a signature sonic boom.

Aquaman grunted under the strain of the 10-g Immelman maneuver then sat back on his chair, deeply inhaling in order to maintain the flow of oxygen to his brain before he passed out. "Little heavy handed on the roll, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Sorry if I scared you..." she teased, remembering the last time she'd managed to get a rise out of Batman with her piloting skills. "Blame Batman. He showed me that particular maneuver."

Flash and Orin rolled their eyes in the back seat. Flash raised his finger to his mouth like he was about to induce vomiting before Diana turned in her seat and gave him a dirty look.

"If you're done throwing up, we'll be feet dry in two minutes." She announced.

"What does that mean?" Flash asked.

"Means the plane will go from being over water (feet-wet) to being over land (feet-dry)," Batman replied with a smirk over his shoulder. He surveyed the images on the digital monitor located between his seat and Diana's. "Based on these photos, it's another way of telling you to get ready for a bumpy landing. I'd estimate we're up against at least a battalion of ground troops. Looks like they've got the Palace surrounded."


	4. Chapter 3 A Call to Arms

Chapter 3 – A Call to Arms 

Among the many advantages of the Invisible Jet, the refracted light technology renders it invisible to both radar and to human eyes, even when standing in close proximity. While visual accuity and recognition are senses that all intelligent species rely upon in one form or another, the jet's designers recognized sound and smell play an equally important role for many of those species as well. Accordingly, the engines relied on repulsor-lift technology as a means of propulsion, fueled by anti-matter. Given the fusion reaction, the Jet emitted no tell-tale exhaust detectable even by the most sensitive olfactory glands. Essentially an anti-gravity chamber, the repulsor technology is also silent, thus allowing the pilot to land the plane next to a field of spectators, all of which are unaware that the jet is even nearby until the occupants emerge from the cockpit.

Given her obvious familiarity with the island terrain, Diana elected to land the jet in silent hover mode on a grassy field 500 meters directly east of the Palace. The field was normally utilized for archery practice under normal circumstances but there was no sign of either Amazons or archers. The field displayed some signs of battle as a number of smoking craters were evident between the jet and the Palace, otherwise there was no sign of the Amazons.

As they exited the jet, the Leagers took advantage of the jets refractal technology, pressing against the hull of the plane in order to disappear from any nearby Dorian soldiers. Batman quickly produced a pair of binoculars from his cape. As he surveyed the positions of the Dorian Army dug in around the Palace, he clicked an infra-red sensor to help him see through the smoke billowing from the temples.

Orin had no such need for the aid of technology as his eyes were accustomed to seeing at great depths. Between the two of them, they were able to determine that there were at least 1,500 Dorians armed with plasma energy rifles, the same type utilized by Intergang in their recent robbery of the Hope Diamond and similar stones from the Smithsonian museum.

"Flash, can you do a quick recon of the island?" Batman commanded. "More importantly, can you do it without giving away that we're here?"

"Done." The red blur whizzed away.

As they surveyed the scene, Batman opened the channel on his communicator, "J'onn, can you read me?"

"The signal is weak but passable." J'onn replied, a hint of static echoing through the line.

"Let's try the teleporter. Locate twenty meters east of my position."

"Understood." The hollow voice replied.

An instant later a simple wooden crate materialized at the location Batman had specified, however the three gasped when it coalesced into its final form. Originally a square wooden crate, the smoking ruin appearing before them in no way resembled the object that stood on the teleporter pad in the Watchtower two seconds before.

"I take it our experiment did not go well." J'onn surmised over the link.

"We're going to have to make other plans." Batman confirmed. "Let's put a second team on ready-alert for an Alpha strike in the launch bay. Five-minute-alert. We can't be too careful here. Flash is doing recon...it's at least a battalion but we may need more air support once he reports in."

"Assembling now." J'onn replied. "Good luck."

As Batman double clicked his communicator to close the channel, Diana whirled to face him, her face a mask of determination. "Why do we not attack? They're right in front of us."

"Easy, Princess." Batman replied, "The troops we can handle. I'm more concerned about who brought them here and why they are here. If it's Circe or Ares, we may need to develop a better plan than a frontal assault against a well-equipped army."

"But my sisters are getting killed in there." Diana argued, the mounting outrage evident in her expression.

"We won't do them any good as goats grazing the hillside if it's Circe who's behind all of this," he replied evenly. "Give Flash one more minute then we'll strike, I promise."

Diana fumed for a moment. Batman could tell by the set of her jaw that she was about to argue the point further and he leaned into her, quietly reiterating the validity of his argument. Orin watched the process unfold, a wry smile cracking his face as he watched his teammates bicker about their strategy. 'I don't see a happy future for the two of them,' he thought with bemusement, 'A woman should know her place in such situations.'

Flash's arrival two seconds later provided a welcome relief from the escalating argument between the Dark Knight and the Amazon Princess. He skidded to a halt at their position behind the Invisible Jet, breathing heavily from the exertion of running at full Speed Force.

"Report." Batman ordered grimly.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Flash retorted. "It took longer than I thought to untie the boats."

"What boats?" Diana asked.

"The boats that weren't here the last time we were here." Flash replied with a grin. "I figured this invasion must be sea-borne so I untied all of their ships moored at the wharf."

"That certainly cuts off their escape route, if they intend to escape at all." Orin observed. "What else?"

"Bats was right about the battalion of bad guys. They're dressed up in those funky helmets with the scrubby-brushes on top of them. Anyway, they've formed a pretty good circle around the Palace, but the Amazons seem to be pretty well barricaded in. Problem is that I think the Dorians are setting up some heavier weapons...artillery or something... to blow the doors down. If we take those out then we'll buy your sisters some time."

"Then that's our order of battle. Let's split up." Batman stated as he outlined the next step of their battle-plan. "Diana, is there a back way into the Palace?"

"Of course." She replied, "Through Athena's Temple. It takes awhile to get through the passageways though."

"Fine. Let's utilize our strengths. You and Flash find your mother and the rest of the Amazons. See how they're holding up and whether they need your help. Orin and I will take out the emplacements on the south side. Once you hear the explosions, bring the Amazons against their rear-guard."

"Rear-guard? The Dorians have them surrounded." Flash retorted.

"We'll make them think the Marines have landed on the beach." Batman grinned. "Let's go!"

"The quickest way for all of us is to make our way to Athena's Temple." Diana stated as they started running towards the structure. "Once Flash and I are inside, you and Orin need to make your way around the Temple until you locate their emplacements."

Thirty seconds later they arrived at the northern entrance into Athena's Temple. The decibel level of the battle sounds had increased dramatically and they practically had to shout to make themselves heard.

"There." Diana pointed to a series of buildings running towards the wharf, waiting for Batman to follow the line of her direction. "Follow that alley down to the wharf, turn south when the alley dead-ends, then you should have a clear vantage point to survey the emplacements."

"Good luck," he replied, then motioned for Orin to join him on the short sprint to the alley. The pair surveyed the scene to determine if there were any Dorians in their path, then stood poised to make the run to the alley.

"Wait a second." Diana yelled, stopping the two of them in their tracks. She walked over to Batman, tilted her head, then moved into him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her mouth hungrily sought his own and she gave him a quick yet passionate kiss that caused Flash and Orin's eyes to bug out.

"What was that for?" he growled as she disengaged her arms around his neck, embarrassed Diana had engaged in a public display of affection in front of their teammates.

"Luck," she replied with a smile, then turned and disappeared into the Temple in a blur.

"Late!" Flash yelled over his shoulder, following her blurred form into the Temple.

Batman and Orin set off immediately down the alley, using whatever cover they could find in the doorways to avoid detection from the soldiers who doubtless would be guarding their army's flank. While Aquaman was a recent addition to the League, Batman found himself admiring the professional way the Atlantean King conducted himself, even during a sabotage mission such as this one. The quick dashes through the alley were strenuous, especially for a man carrying a six-foot tall trident with his free hand.

As he was 'on point' for the next block, Batman sprinted to the nearest doorway, surveying the scene for any Dorians. He was about to motion Orin to join him at his location when a quick movement at the intersection ahead revealed two Dorians lounging with their backs against the wall. They were conducting themselves with an arrogance reflecting their belief the siege of the Amazons was almost over. That was their first (and unfortunately, last) mistake.

One second later, two batarangs whirred through the damp air, impacting on the helmets with sufficient force to leave the two soldiers crumpled on the curb.

Batman felt Orin on his shoulder a half second later. "Any more of them?"

"No, but be careful." Batman replied.

"Always." Orin stated dismissively, then used his meta-strength to leap 40 yards down the alleyway. He landed with a quiet thump, his nimbleness oddly juxtaposed with his 300 pound weight (mostly due to the density of his cell structure), then turned and gave Batman the all-clear sign. Batman ran forward to the position but didn't stop when he neared Orin. Instead, he produced a grapple and fired it onto the top of the roof of a four-story tower dominating the sky-line next to the wharf. Using his momentum, he triggered the reel in his grapple, floating up to the roofline as if flight was second nature to him. Orin shook his head that any mortal man could accomplish such a task with such routine calm then jumped 40 feet into the air, landing next to his teammate with a quiet thud.

Batman raised his fingertips to his lips, then raised two fingers with his right hand as he used his left hand to point to the lookout tower at the opposite end of the building. Orin nodded in understanding as he spied the two soldiers in the tower, then used each arm to make a circling motion, bringing his hands together to signify his intent. Batman nodded in agreement then stealthily crept to the opposite side of the roof, crouching as he swiftly made his way towards the tower. The guards should have been looking their way but, mirroring the actions of their now comatose comrades, were more interested in watching the artillery pieces being moved into position than watching their flank. Two seconds later their heads bounced together as Orin and Batman swooped in from either side, then the soldiers collapsed in a heap.

"What do you see?" Orin asked his colleague as he returned to a standing position after dragging the guards away from their feet.

"Two artillery pieces. Lexcorp design. Plasma energy discharge capable of generating an atomic yield equivalent to a one-kiloton." Batman replied tersely.

"I'm not familiar with that terminology." Orin replied peevishly.

"Once they're in place, they're going to blow the Palace to hell and gone." Batman replied with disdain. "Which one do you want?"

"I'll take the furthest one since I can jump that far," Orin replied. "How do you want it done?"

"In a perfect world, make it look like they blew themselves up but if not, blown up nevertheless. Here." Batman said calmly, producing two calculator-sized, metallic boxes from his belt. "These should do the trick."

"What are they?" Orin replied warily.

"Shaped-charge plastique explosives." Batman stated, showing his teammate the workings of the timer, arming device and magnetic clamp. He set the timer for 20 seconds on each then armed another grapple so that he could repel down the line towards the artillery piece. "Let's rendezvous back at Athena's Temple once they're taken out."

"Which way, Princess?" Flash asked, studying his teammate's face in the low light of the tunnel. He could tell by her expression that she was slightly confused, but he didn't want to sound like he was losing confidence in her navigational abilities.

"Hard to remember, honestly," she admitted. "Haven't been down here in over 1,000 years. My mother showed me the passage once when I was little, so forgive me if I lose my bearings."

"It's difficult to imagine you 'as little'" Flash replied as they set off again, aided this time by the light of Bat-flare she'd borrowed from Bruce.

"I wasn't born this way," Diana said, speeding by a number of doorways before making another left turn.

"Well, your mother made you out of clay, right?" Flash asked dubiously.

"Yes, as a six-year old." She replied. "We all have to grow up sometime."

"Speak for yourself, Princess." Flash replied with a smirk. "I'm going to stay this way forever."

"Which way is that, Flash?" she chided gently, "Irresponsible?"

"No need to get personal, Princess," he chided as they increased their pace through the passage. "Besides, its not like I would have had a chance with you if I was responsible anyway. I'm obviously not your type."

"What type is that?" she replied, making a right turn at the end of the quickly narrowing tunnel.

"Dark and brooding." Flash replied with a laugh. "I know he's good looking and rich, but is there something that I missed besides that?"

Diana's eyes narrowed as she considered the question. "He's got issues, I'll give you that, but he's a warrior at heart. I find that very attractive, among other things."

"Lantern's a Marine. Didn't help him." Flash countered. "What else?"

"We're almost there," she replied uncomfortably, not wanting to further explore the discussion.

"Whatever you say, Princess."

They rounded the last corner and came to a dead halt as the tunnel leading into the Palace entrance had collapsed as a result of the concussions from the battle above them. The two quickly set to work, utilizing Flash's super-speed to remove the pile of brick rubble. Diana doubled-back along the tunnel, borrowing wooden support beams along the way. She returned and set about re-shoring the ceiling while Flash tunneled through the bricks at super-speed. They were both choking from the dust within seconds but it couldn't be avoided unless they slowed their pace, so Flash re-doubled his efforts to get them to cleaner air. Diana shored up another ceiling beam then returned to the floor, amazed to find the blockage already cleared away.

"You really do have your moments, don't you?" she asked with a grin, then led him further down the tunnel. Fifty meters later she stopped at a large metal door and heaved against it, straining to budge the object. For a few seconds nothing happened, then the door gave way with a long groan, swinging open into the Palace.

The scene in front of them was straight out of an _ER_ episode. At least a hundred Amazons lay dead on the floor of the Great Hall of the Palace. The northern wall from which Diana and Flash emerged was obviously serving as a makeshift morgue while the southern side of the Hall seemed to be serving as a triage unit for the injured. Explosions continued to rock the building as the surrounding Dorians threw grenades onto the roof. Dust fell on the Amazons like rain as the ceiling columns shook under the strain. Diana studied the lifeless eyes of her sisters as they strode through the Great Hall, mentally naming each body as they passed. She muttered a prayer to Athena to watch over their souls. Occasionally one of her sisters would scurry by, their faces briefly lighting up in recognition of Diana before the seriousness of their tasks forced them to rush by without uttering even a greeting.

At least four of her sisters had walked by before Diana finally stopped one of them in her tracks. "Menalippe," she started with relief, thanking the Gods that one of her closest friends was uninjured, "Where is Hippolyta? Where is the Queen?"

"Diana, thank the Gods you're here." Menalippe replied, pointing over her shoulder. Diana reached out to her but the Amazon didn't slow down, obviously determined to complete her task. "She's fine... over there...in the corner."

After she managed to weave her way through the rest of her sisters, Diana finally located her Mother, kneeling on the ground next to a soldier. The woman was grimacing in pain caused by an energy burn. The wound looked nasty and ran down the left side of her body. Hippolyta was busy applying the last remaining drops of a salve to treat the wound. Diana crouched next to her mother, making herself useful by applying bandages to the affected areas. Hippolyta nodded a quick grunt of gratuity, applying more bandages to the wound. She had wrapped almost half of the patient's leg before she did a quick double take, realizing Diana was assisting her effort.

"Thank Hera you came!" Hippolyta muttered, exchanging a quick hug with her daughter before returning to the business at hand.

"Mother, who is doing this?" Diana asked. "How have they been able to kill so many of our sisters? I thought we were immortal!"

"One of the Gods...perhaps more...have seen fit to bring the Dorians into our future." Hippolyta stated savagely, ripping shreds of cloth from the hem of her dress as bandages were becoming scarcer by the moment. "They arrived an hour before dawn. According to my lookouts, a fog appeared out of nowhere. Before we could react, there were over two thousand Dorian soliders armed with weapons from Man's World parading down our streets. The situation was bleak, but we managed to organize a line of defense...even managed a counter-attack on their left flank...but those weapons have overwhelmed our shields. There are more than a hundred dead and as many wounded."

"So we've seen," Diana replied tersely. "Mother, I've seen those weapons in Man's World. They are dangerous but they shouldn't be lethal for Amazons. They are more like stun weapons than anything else."

"My thoughts exactly." Hippolyta replied. "A god, perhaps a sorceress, has forsaken us. The weapons have been blessed, or cursed, to kill us. We kept falling back and barricaded ourselves in the Palace as a last line of defense. That's when I called you."

Diana motioned over her shoulder to Flash, who had been standing a respectful distance away from the two of them. "Mother, I brought a team of my friends. You may remember Flash? He fought with us...the last time I was here."

Hippolyta stood up and recognizing a warrior she'd decorated for his gallantry, regally bowed in salute. She returned her gaze to her daughter. Diana started again, "The Dorians have moved some of their heavier weaponry next to the harbor. I'm afraid we're going to have to evacuate the wounded from the south wall before they get a chance to discharge the weapon, lest there be more lives lost."

Hippolyta nodded in understanding, then barked out a quick series of orders to initiate the evacuation process. "You said a team, correct? Where are the others?"

"Introducing themselves to the Dorians." Diana seethed as she helped pick up one her wounded sisters. "The Dorians are going to regret this day."


	5. Chapter 5

  
Chapter #4 – Flank Attack 

Batman stood in the tower, testing the wind to see if any breeze might disrupt the flight of his grapple across the 125 meters necessary to reach the artillery emplacement. He studied the dozen or so men grouped around each piece, grimly realizing the Palace should have been blown up an hour before if the men had a proper inkling of how to move and arm the weapon correctly. 'No reason to give them any more time' he thought, then shot his grapple into another four-story building across the plaza. He secured his end of the line around the column to his left then nodded at Orin, who proceeded to jump out of the tower, managing a full somersault in the air before landing in the midst of the Dorians near the second emplacement.

One second later, Batman dropped two smoke bombs onto his site before landing in their midst. The artillerymen suspected something was wrong when smoke started searing his lungs, but they were unable to vocalize an alarm. Their suspicions were confirmed a second later when members of the team started dropping like flies. One of the more experienced sergeants finally managed to sound an alarm before he too was silenced. His warning was sufficient to cause a nearby infantry unit to detach a squad of twenty men to investigate the mounting panic occurring by their artillery.

The squad had managed to march the first two steps required to cover the fifty yards between their positions when an explosion rang out at the nearest artillery piece. Realizing that he needed the power of the artillery to knock down the doors to the Palace, Phylptus immediately realized the extent of his predicament. He marshaled all of his forces to rally around the second emplacement when an explosion rang out from that area, rivaling the power of the first.

As he rode his horse towards the wharf to investigate the cause of the explosion, Phylptus halted his horse, a look of incredulity etched on his face. His precious ships were floating away from Themyscira, powered by the ebbing tides. 'I've just lost my transportation and all of my heavy weaponry in less than a minute,' he thought as panic built up in his gut. 'The tide has turned against us.'

The remaining Amazons had fully evacuated their wounded away from the southern wall when Hippolyta took a break to drink from a canteen Flash provided. He was making himself as useful as possible, utilizing his super-speed to retrieve water from the last running spigot in the Palace, as well as tend to the wounded. Diana's eyes twinkled as she spied him making two a few unnecessary side trips to speak to two raven haired beauties, marveling that the man could still make time to pursue romantic interests even during a siege.

"I'm assuming that you brought the entire League?" Hippolyta asked, "When can we expect relief from the siege?"

"In addition to Flash, Batman and Aquaman - Orin, the King of Atlantis, are with me." Diana replied.

"Batman?" Hippolyta protested in horror. "He's only a mortal Diana…he'll be next to useless against that kind of firepower."

Diana smiled at her mother's ignorance. She contemplated naming a few of the situations when Batman would have been viewed as 'useless' by the League's now-defeated enemies but her retort was cut short a second later as two large explosions rang out from the harbor.

"That must be him now." Diana said proudly. "He's a true warrior, mother. Give him a chance. I'll need two companies of troops to assist me in launching an attack in one minute."

They busied themselves locating enough troops to fulfill the battle order when Orin's voice crackled in Diana's communicator. "Diana, get out here if you can. Batman is down."

Alfred Pennyworth had once observed that while Batman had no extraphysical prowess when compared to his League teammates, there was one part of his anatomy which science would probably determine was superhuman in its origin: his head.

Before launching their attack, Batman and Aquaman had agreed to stagger the detonations of the artillery pieces in order to ensure the maximum amount of damage to the Dorian Army. Unfortunately, once Orin had arrived in the midst of a dozen well-equipped soldiers, his brain had gone into automatic battle-mode, thereby wiping out a few important details like the timing of the charges. After he'd wiped out the guards around the emplacement, Orin secured the charge to the weapon then leapt towards Batman's position.

Batman was surprised to find Aquaman land next to him halfway between the two emplacements then realized with a shock that the weapons were not timed according to their original plan. Batman was actually running towards Aquaman's emplacement after securing his own sapper charge. He immediately made a 90-degree turn away from the two artillery pieces as any other line of retreat was out of the question. The Dorian battalion cut off his retreat to the south and west while the harbor represented his only alternative to the north. Unfortunately, as he made his retreat, he was almost run over by the Atlantean King. Orin was similarly motivated to gain a safe distance from his own emplacement as his timer showed fifteen seconds when he started running towards Batman. The resulting collision which would have been comical if not for the fact that they were still in equal proximity to both emplacements. More importantly, as they were sprawled in a heap on the ground, neither man was making progress to alleviate that situation.

Luckily, given his meta-strength, Orin was able to set the two of them back to rights a second later without any lasting damage. After he picked up his Trident, they turned towards the harbor. Their feet resumed their frenetic pace to carry them past the blast zone when the first explosion rocked the ground under their feet. The blast concussion threw them to the ground. Staggering to their feet a moment later, they managed to regain their equilibrium then renewed their escape. As they ran, a smile etched its way onto Orin's face as he triumphantly thought they were home free. Unfortunately, the second blast sent a similar shock wave through the air. A piece of shrapnel the size and shape of a golf ball shot directly at Batman, glancing off the crown of his head a millisecond later. While the object didn't penetrate into his brain, the force of the impact rendered him immediately unconscious.

After he watched his teammate stagger and hit the cobblestones like a sack of potatoes, Orin reached over and quickly threw the comatose man over his shoulder. With one leap, he bounded away from the largest group of Dorian troops, moving faster than they had ever seen any man move before. After the explosions, the Dorians had sufficiently regained their wits to initiate a counter-attack against the insurgency in their flank. Almost the entire battalion charged towards the rear, not realizing the explosions were caused by two superheroes already vacating the battlefield. With a second bound, Orin jumped back to their original position at the tower overlooking the battlefield. He knelt onto the roof and secured Batman's crumpled form into the corner of the roof, then called for backup.

Circe and Ares had settled under an umbrella and were lightly munching on a plate of brie cheese, bread and grapes when an explosion rocked the pier on which they sat."What happened?" Circe asked in exasperation.

"They're the cause!" Ares said, pointing his finger at Batman and Aquaman as the two men fled from the scene.

"That's Diana's boyfriend! She must be here!" Circe gasped, then ducked as the second blast rained yet more shrapnel down on their position. "We've got to stop them!"

The tide of the battle had turned against the Dorian Army, but their lack of training in modern military strategy ultimately contributed to their demise. The loss of the artillery pieces was important to be sure, but ultimately there were other means available (a few well placed incendiaries on the Palace roof, for example) to extract the Amazons from the Temple. The Dorians held the machinery in awe however and its destruction resulted in an immediate plunge in the soldier's morale level. Their naivete about flank attacks was also exposed as the Dorians assumed they were under attack by a force of Amazons to their rear. The Dorian troops wheeled away from the Temple and counter-attacked in the direction of the harbor, not realizing there were only two men responsible for causing the havoc behind their lines.

As they advanced, companies, platoons and squads lost their cohesion as they desperately raced to the harbor to fend off what they believed to be an impeding attack. The Dorians reached the shoreline without finding a single enemy however, and panic quickly spread through the men when they realized their ships were floating away with the tide. Unfortunately for those soldiers, Batman had also placed some time-delay smoke bombs on the ground. A few platoons were caught in the choking gasses then collapsed to the ground a moment later, further increasing the panic of the remaining companies as they frantically searched for the phantom army in their rear.

A moment later, two companies of Amazon warriors took advantage of the Dorians reversal of fortune and flowed from a side gate in the Palace, screaming a battle-cry in the Ancient Tongue as they advanced. Led by Diana and Flash, the Amazons poured into the now exposed flank of the Dorian Army, which until two minutes before thought it had the advantage of both surprise and firepower on its side. Realizing they'd lost the advantage, the Dorians initiated a full-scale retreat towards the wharf. The retreat created a bottleneck as men pushed and shoved each other out of the way in the mounting panic.

Dozens were crushed underfoot in the melee while a few strong swimmers elected to attempt to reach the nearest ship, floating an enticing forty meters away from the wharf. Unfortunately, the swimmers quickly sank under the weight of their bronze armor. Dejected, the rest of the army turned back towards their enemy, resigned to face the Amazons in one last, desperate battle.

Phylptus made a courageous attempt to form columns in order to secure their position. His efforts were frustrated however as every time the front lines attempted to raise their weapons against the advancing Amazons, a red blur shot past, snatching away their weapons before they could do any real damage. There were a scattering of shots from soldiers still bearing the plasma rifles in the rear ranks, however the Amazon Champion easily deflected the blasts with her bracelets. Her eyes glowed with anger as she rallied her sisters forward. The rage evident on her face caused the Dorians to quietly pray that some other unlucky soldier be the one to face the brunt of her wrath.

Finished with the task of relieving 2,000 men of their plasma rifles, Flash allowed those with swords to keep them for their final defense, knowing full well that he was only prolonging their deaths. Flash debated trying to disarm the Amazons as well then realized it wasn't his place to enforce his sense of justice on someone else's homeland.

Moments later, the men in the front ranks were cut down like a scythe as the Amazons brought their swords and spears into the fray. They offered no quarter for their Dorian enemies this time around and expertly plunged their long lances into the tightly packed confines, impaling the men one by one. Fueled by the outrage over the deaths of their sisters, the Amazon soldiers maintained the warm work of slaughtering the Dorians for the next few minutes until the streets of Themyscira ran red with their blood.

Some resisted longer than others, including Phylptus, whose strength of will alone kept his men from breaking from the ranks. Those men who didn't fully trust the new weapons Ares provided had elected to keep their swords. They men made a valiant last stand near the harbor walls, skillfully parrying the Amazonian attacks until the sheer weight of the attack overwhelmed their remaining numbers. The Amazons later remarked those Dorians reminded them of the Spartans last stand at Thermopylae. Whenever possible, they granted those Dorians a quick, painless death until the last of them were slain. Fifteen minutes after breaking out of the Palace, Phylptus found himself surrounded by Amazons. Screaming with rage, he was the last Dorian to fall to an Amazon sword, then the field of battle resume an eerie calm.

As the fire of the battle against the Dorians ebbed from her veins, Diana spied Orin on top of the building to her north. She levitated into the air, landing a moment later next to Orin. He'd propped an unconscious Batman in the corner then watched over him to ensure that no Dorians would kill his wounded teammate.

"What happened?" she asked, shocked at the fact that he had been wounded. It was easy to forget that he was a mortal as he typically emerged from battles with their enemies with nary a scratch.

"Piece of shrapnel." Orin surmised, handing his teammate into her waiting arms. "He should be okay, if there's no swelling in his brain."

"Is that a possibility?" she asked, her fear growing by the second.

"I am neither a doctor nor an expert on human frailty." Orin replied darkly. "We'll need to get J'onn to take a look at him. In the meantime, you've got a lot of wounded down there so let's help them while we can..."

"Poor Diana! Is your boyfriend crossing over Styx as we speak?" Circe's voice taunted from above.

"I knew it was you, witch!" Diana seethed, turning to confront the woman who had caused her so much grief in recent weeks. "Your parole said you couldn't touch my mother!" She gingerly lowered Batman back into the corner, propping him upright with as much care as she could manage.

"And I haven't darling." Circe chirped, then pointed over to the God who emerged from the smoke below. "He will though!"

"Ares!" Diana exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Tidying up some loose ends from a long time ago, Diana. I should have anticipated that you would come back though your exile was supposed to last for eternity. Don't women even listen? Eternity means forever!" Ares lamented as he levitated up to the top of the building.

Diana turned and spied the trident in Orin's hands. "The witch is yours!" she spat derisively, then flew towards Ares. Gathering her momentum as she neared the powerful God, she launched a right hook at his chin, ducking as he attempted to deliver an overhand left. The force of her punch was powerful enough to throw the God off the top of the building onto the cobblestones below. He landed on his back with a jarring thud and Diana immediately pursued him to the ground, then pounced on him before he fully recovered from the fall.

Smiling imperiously as she watched Ares and Diana exchange blows on the street below, Circe lazily drifted above the Atlantean King. Realizing he lacked the power of flight, she was confident in her ability to deal with what appeared to be a mere interloper in her eyes. She prepared to launch her first attack when she realized that he carried Neptune's Trident. Her eyes went white with fear for the first time since her return from the Pit.

Orin sneered. "Nothing to say, witch?" he goaded. "Recognize the instrument the Ancients used to consign you to the Pit? I always enjoyed the stories my father told me about how they used it to fry you like a pig on the spit! Do you still have the scars to show for it?"

"I've always said it's not the size of the wand, but how you use it!" she replied, then unleashed an attack directly at him. Orin triggered a blast from the Trident, immediately nullifying her magical attempt to transform him into a carp. Circe cursed silently then sent another spell directly behind him. Two stone gargoyles on the roof animated to life for a moment before Orin turned and triggered the Trident's own blast, canceling her magic a second time. The stone figures quickly receded to their original, lifeless pose. Orin's haughty smile grew larger by the minute, knowing he held the one instrument on the planet that could defeat the witch.

As she circled him, Circe's face paled, realizing the scions of Atlantis were well versed in the powers of the Trident. She looked around, hoping for some assistance from Ares, however he was locked in a grueling hand-to-hand duel with Diana. Circe did a double take as she realized that Ares appeared to be worse for the wear after exchanging another series of blows with the Amazon Princess.

"You are going to have to do better than that, Circe! I'll try and make this as quick and painless as possible." With that Orin triggered a blast from the Trident in her direction. She managed to deflect a substantial portion of the magical discharge, however the tail of the blast caught her in the stomach. Doubling over in pain, Circe plummeted towards the ground, arresting her fall only inches from the pavement.

She looked up and saw the grim determination of the face of the Atlantean as he bounded off the roof of the building. Circe rolled to her right just in time to avoid being crushed when he landed on the ground. She took quick stock of her situation, realized that the best she could hope for in this situation was a draw, then sped away from the island, gaining altitude as she flew away.

"You're on your own, Ares," she shouted, "My revenge will have to wait another day."

Diana was surprised at the success she was enjoying against Ares thus far in their battle. While normally reticent to fight a more powerful God (the God of War no less), she realized that the exertion of bringing the Dorians to the island had weakened him considerably. They were standing toe-to-toe in the middle of the street, trading straight overhand rights and left hooks. Foregoing her boxing stance for a moment, Diana replicated one of Batman's favorite moves, bringing a spin-kick directly into his midriff.

Ares breath exploded from his lungs and he went down on one knee. She stepped forward, hoping to exploit the advantage, then received a right uppercut to the jaw which threw her back across the street. She impacted on the exterior wall of the dockside building with enough force to leave an imprint of her body in the brick wall. Diana rose to her feet a moment later, then dusted herself off quickly before setting off to battle with her opponent one more time. As she approached Ares, Diana debated the merits of her strategy. Initially she hoped to wear him down but even in his weakened state, Ares appeared to be an even match for her. 'Find his weakness' she thought savagely as they began trading another series of blows.

Diana circled to her left to keep him moving, then noticed that he was gasping for air. 'He's tired but that's only allowing me to trade punches with him' she realized grimly, ducking as another overhand right cross flashed over her head. Sensing that his punches were losing some of their steam, Diana re-doubled the pace of her punches, raining down a series of combinations, supplemented by the aikido kicks Batman recently taught her, to further wear down her opponent.

The power of her onslaught was visible on Ares' face a moment later. Staggering back to his feet, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, astonished that she'd managed to start a flow of blood from a God.

"I see the Amazons have learned a few new tricks in battle." He observed with a laugh. "Impressive, but it won't be enough to stop my plans. As soon as Circe finishes the Atlantean, we're going to consign you and your Mother to the very Pit you've been guarding for centuries!"

Just as the words dribbled out of his mouth, Circe flashed overhead, gaining altitude as she fled the island. His face paled when he heard his partner shout, "You're on your own, Ares," then the Atlantean landed next to his Amazon teammate a second later. The two Leaguers circled the God like two Great White Sharks who smelled the blood of their prey in the water, then unleashed their combined attack a moment later.

The aftermath of the battle was quiet. Diana felt drained as the adrenaline rush left her body. Exhausted, she slumped to the ground to regain her breath. Ares lay comatose on the ground a few feet away. Diana's eyes reflected her trepidation at dealing with him again, knowing that when Ares regained his senses he would still represent a formidable opponent for the two Leaguers. Orin followed the direction of her stare. He put his hand on his shoulder, reassuring her that he would take great pleasure in delivering the now comatose Ares to the prison in Athena's Temple. Orin slung Ares over his back then muttered, "Let's hope the power of the Gods can contain him." He ambled back up the alley in the direction of the Temple a moment later. As she watched him walk away, Diana spied movement from the opposite side of the street.

Her mother and Flash were on the sidewalk, picking through the debris in search of four Amazons reported missing in action. Spying Diana, the two quickly crossed the street in her direction. Diana wearily rose to her feet when they arrived, embracing her Mother warmly. Relief washed over Hippolyta's face as she held her daughter, then she whispered a quiet, "Athena be praised."

"Who was responsible for this?" Hippolyta asked through gritted teeth.

"Ares and Circe apparently are holding onto some ancient grudges against us." Diana replied, "Orin and I knocked Ares unconscious. He took him to the Temple prison but he'll need your immediate assistance. Circe escaped."

As the word "unconscious" left her mouth, a sudden panic swept over Diana as she remembered the condition of her lover. She quickly levitated to the top of the building above their position on the street. He was propped in the corner where Diana left him, chin lolled on his chest and still unconscious.

She picked up him, cradling his limp form in her arms, then dropped back to the pavement below where Hippolyta and Flash waited expectantly.

"What's wrong with Bats?" Flash asked, the concern evident on his face.

Diana tenderly kneeled down on the pavement, cradling his head in her lap as she stretched his legs out to keep him comfortable. Gingerly, she peeled the cowl away from his face, probing his head for injuries with her fingertips. "Orin said he was hurt in the explosion. Concussion."

Hippolyta watched her daughter's softening expression with interest, then her eyes sparked with recognition once Diana tenderly ran her fingertips down the side of the unconscious man's face.

"I didn't realize that you had developed feelings for this man…a mere mortal no less," Hippolyta whispered, a hint of aristocratic snobbery creeping into her voice as she vocalized the final words.

Diana's head snapped around and Hippolyta reeled from the anger her daughter flashed in her direction. "This 'mere mortal' put himself in harm's way for our sisters in two separate occasions. I would think that you would have the decency to treat him with a little more respect, Mother."

"We can talk about that later, my child. In the meantime, why don't you put him in your room in the Palace so that he can rest." Hippolyta soothed.

"You're right, of course." Diana replied, returning to her feet, still cradling her man in her arms, "I'll take him back to the Palace." She turned to face Flash, "Can you call J'onn and arrange to have some medical supplies flown down here?"

"Already on it, Princess." Flash replied.

Hippolyta stared at her daughter, shaking her head with amazement that she had fallen for a mortal, then dismissed that thought for later. Ares confinement represented the most pressing matter at hand. She strode away from her daughter, formulating the most articulate means she could use to express herself in Athena's Temple. Any failure on her part to appeal to Zeus' sense of justice would likely result in an ongoing war between Ares and Themyscira. As she walked to the Temple, she spied her daughter float up and over the nearest building, gaining altitude before she sped off to the Palace, protectively holding the Dark Knight. .


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter #5 – Drama Queen 

The funeral pyres burned bright that night on the island as the Amazons cremated their dead according to ancient ritual. It had been over 2,000 years since one of the race had perished. The loss of one-third of the Amazonian population represented a heavy price for the tribe. As the Gods had protected Themyscira for so many years, the women had grown accustomed to the idea that they were immortal, haughtily dismissing the mortality of Man's World. As the tribe watched the cremations, Hippolyta could sense their growing unease at the fact that their immortality had been disproved that morning.

She stood before the tribe, as well as a contingent of Diana's League teammates. In light of Diana's previous encounter, J'onn chose the group carefully. Over half of the League members presently on the island were women, including Supergirl, Huntress and Fire. The second team arrived half an hour after the battle's conclusion. Once the craft set down, the team of superheroes instantly switched gears from battle mode to medical technicians. Supergirl coordinated the triage, raiding the available supplies on board the plane to render medical assistance to the injured Amazons. While some of the injuries were severe, the Amazons were healing quickly, another gift of the Gods.

The League had also helped perform the more gruesome task of morgue detail. They were careful to allow the Amazons to pick up their own dead while the League tasked themselves to place the Dorian dead onto their ships, now moored at the Harbor. J'onn and Lantern spent the next few hours gathering wood sufficient for a mass funeral pyre. By twilight the Amazon Queen initiated the final task of cremating her sisters, touching a torch to the bottom of the pyre. After she called out the names of the fallen warriors, Hippolyta turned to address the mass of warriors watching the blaze.

"Sisters," Hippolyta began. "The events of this day will live in infamy. It is important you are aware Ares and Circe were ultimately responsible for this attack. I have appealed to the Gods for protection. Ares is under lock and key on Mount Olympus while Zeus decides his fate. Additionally, Apollo and Athena are hunting Circe as I speak. There has been much loss, to be sure, but when I think of how close we were to genocide, my heart leaps with thanks for the swift rescue by Diana and her teammates."

Hippolyta turned to Diana, Flash and Orin, who stood in the foreground of the League members. "We are truly grateful for your help. It seems that we have grown reliant on the assistance of outside help in recent times. Some of our views on Man's World may need to be revisited in light of these events. But those things will have to wait for another time."

Hippolyta bowed her head and murmured a prayer in the Ancient Tongue to Athena, begging the Goddess to watch over the souls of their fallen warriors. Her Amazon subjects echoed their Queen's prayer, then realizing there was nothing more to be done, filed away from the pyre one by one. Slowly, the women trudged their way through the battlefield back to the residential quarters. Despite their superhuman strength, they desperately needed some rest. In the morning, they would bury the Dorian soldiers now laying on the decks of their ships. Hippolyta seriously considered the idea of floating the ships out to deep water, then burning them as floating coffins. Unless someone came up with a better idea before dawn, the Amazons had one more funeral detail in their future.

J'onn returned with Diana and Hippolyta to her quarters while the rest of the League returned to the Watchtower in the Javelin. Batman, sans cape, cowl and belt, was resting comfortably in the bedroom Diana had slept in since she was a child. The room was decorated with only a few flourishes befitting a Princess. J'onn immediately noticed the lack of décor and raised his eyes in question when they entered the room.

"Thought it would be more impressive?" Diana asked with a smile. "I was never all that comfortable with the trappings of royalty, to be honest. I made it a point to decorate my room in the same manner as my sisters."

"A commendable action for royalty, to be sure," J'onn murmured as he knelt down to inspect his comatose friend. He deftly ran his fingers over Bruce's cranium, searching for signs of damage.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Lucky for us, the bump is raised, not an indentation as I feared." He replied. "Epidermal hematoma, rather than the more dangerous subdural."

"What's the difference?" she asked, unfamiliar with medical terminology.

"This injury won't cause any long-term damage to his brain. The impact was sufficient to render him unconscious however. While concussions aren't my specialty, I assume he should be up and around within a day or two."

Relief washed over Diana's face for the first time that day. She knelt down on the bed and traced her finger over Bruce's jaw, "He looks comfortable like this. Is he dreaming?"

"I make it my policy not to try and read his mind, Diana," J'onn said grimly. "I made that mistake one time and my head still aches from the attempt. Even Doctor Destiny couldn't invade his thoughts for more than a second at a time, and he was standing only five feet away. That should give you some idea as to the extent of his willpower. Ultimately, I'm not concerned about this concussion." He tilted Bruce's head forward to close the airway then dribbled a small amount of water from a cloth into the man's mouth. "It is important that Bruce remain hydrated…can you perform this task again before you go to sleep?".

A small cough interrupted their conversation and the two of them turned to see Hippolyta standing at the door. J'onn quickly bowed to the Amazon Queen as she entered the room, then J'onn turned to Diana, "I should be getting back to the Watchtower. Diana, I will return with the Jet at your summons. If he doesn't regain consciousness by morning, call me. I'll return with the Jet and run an intravenous line if need be."

Diana and Hippolyta watched as the Martian exited the room, then Hippolyta studied the features of Diana's boyfriend for the first time. "He's certainly handsome," she stated, objectively studying his features as if she were looking at a statue.

"I'm glad you find him attractive." Diana replied sarcastically. "His looks are an added benefit; I loved him before he ever removed the cowl."

Hippolyta froze in her tracks as she contemplated her daughter's statement. She decided to switch gears in an attempt to thaw her daughter's icy mood. "Any change in his condition?"

"None, I'm afraid." Diana replied coldly, her voice reflecting her anger at her Mother's earlier, callous comment. "What do you want, Mother?"

Hippolyta looked at her daughter, calmly calculating the extent to which she was willing to carry the upcoming argument the same evening that over one hundred of her Amazon sisters were slain.

"Diana, I apologize if my comments were out of place earlier today. Your admission…" she stammered, struggling to find the most diplomatic words she could offer, "Surprised me. I hoped you would avoid relationships with men entirely, given my experiences. You're right, of course. This man has acted heroically, to be sure."

"He and Orin saved us from that artillery barrage." Diana retorted, her anger still evident. "Without his actions, it's doubtful that there would be an Amazon still alive to tell the tale about this battle."

"Again, I apologize. Please, Diana. It's been a long day." Hippolyta pleaded, her majestic tone softening for the first time since Diana had known her.

Seeing her mother finally shed some of her regal burden, Diana's countenance softened as well. "Very well, Mother. I accept your apology on his behalf. I too acted poorly. There are many ways to describe this man, but 'mere mortal' is not one that does him justice. Come to think of it, out of all of my teammates, he's probably the most dangerous man on the planet."

"Diana, I find it touching that you would treat a man that you are romantically involved with so reverently, but don't you think you might be overstating his capabilities?"

Diana sighed wearily, linking fingers with her comatose lover. "Mother, it's important that you know exactly how I feel about him. I love him. I feel lucky to have him. He's the most brilliant, driven man I've ever met, or ever will meet for that matter, but he chooses to use that drive to help his fellow man. If he used his mind for evil, he would make Alexander look like a paper tiger."

Hippolyta was stunned by her daughter's admission. "You are in love with him? I assumed that it was a lark…an affair perhaps."

"I am most certainly in love with him. He reminds me of Hector in many ways." Diana replied, a touch of pride evident in her voice.

"You speak of the Prince of Troy, I presume?" Hippolyta asked.

"The very same." Diana replied.

"Hector was slain by Achilles outside the walls of Troy." Hippolyta countered. "I fail to see the comparison."

"Hector, a mortal, single-handedly managed to hold together an entire city under siege by an Army ten times the size. Hector managed to hold the Trojan army together by the force of his will alone. When he faced Achilles on the field of battle, Hector knew he was facing a demi-god. Moreover, he knew his chances of winning that battle were almost nil, but he tried anyway. Why? Because he had the honor of a warrior! Batman…Bruce… does the same thing in his city, Gotham City, every night. Even while he fights that battle, he still finds time to contribute as a League member."

"What will happen if the Bat falls in battle then? To an Achilles in Man's World?"

"First of all, his name is Bruce," Diana replied, raising an eyebrow. "Additionally, since I've been in Man's World, I've come to realize how precious life really is. The battle today served as an unfortunate reminder that sometimes, even immortals can be killed, given the right set of circumstances. Bruce and I battled an alien three months ago who was proportionately stronger than I am to Bruce. Had it not been for Superman's intervention, that alien could have crushed the life out of me. It was a first-hand lesson as to the extent of my own mortality. I would rather have loved and lost this man rather than never having loved him at all."

"Would not Orin represent a more suitable mate?" Hippolyta protested. "A joining of the kingdoms of Atlantis and Themyscira would be well received by the Gods."

"Mother, Orin is married, obstinate as Hades, and worse, he is ten times the aristocrat that you would ever hope to be. I'm glad that we are teammates, but I would rather kiss a Wookie."

Hippolyta did not know the meaning of Diana's last remark but chose to pursue the thread of conversation anyway, determined to talk her daughter out of a long-term mistake. "What about Superman? I thought it was fortuitous he returned alive."

"As did I, Mother. Superman…Kal is truly one of my best friends. He is also probably the most powerful alien or human I will ever encounter. His legacy on Earth is unsurpassed, but I do not view him as a potential mate."

"He would be a better fit," Hippolyta countered, "especially given his strength and his abilities. He's more of a God than a man!"

Diana's eyes glowed then peals of laughter echoed through the hall a moment later. "Mother, that's precious! As if a God was more desirable than a man simply because of his nature. Do you not remember your own mistake with Hades? Kal is a friend but nothing more."

Hippolyta slumped into the corner chair as she considered her daughter's viewpoint. Frowning, she scooted to the edge of the chair, realizing she was sitting on Batman's cape. The cowl was draped over the armrest and she picked it up, running her fingers through the eyeholes.

"Of all the League members, you chose the only one without any extra-physical prowess? What is the attraction?"

Diana remained on the bed, considering the question thoughtfully. "He's the only one of my teammates who never treated me like royalty. Despite the fact that he is not physically my equal, he has always treated me as if he was. He backs down to no man, woman or alien. I've seen him intimidate enemies into submission just by looking at them. That quiet confidence is very attractive…it is to me anyway."

Hippolyta watched her daughter's face glow more brightly as she enumerated all of her man's qualities. "Can you make a relationship work with a man so obsessed with his job? When will he make time for you?"

"I will take whatever time he can offer." Diana replied, a weary smile creeping onto her face. "Besides, it's not as if I'll be staying at home every night, pining for his return. I accompany him on most of our missions now anyway. I try to keep my eye on him as he sometimes has an urge to crash his machines into our enemies. I've almost lost him twice that way."

"I take it your love for him means there is no hope for you to return to Themyscira?" Hippolyta asked, a touch of hope still evident in her face that her daughter would return to help her rule Themyscira.

"How can you even say that, Mother? Themysciran law demands my exile!"

"The laws might be bent for a Princess who has twice returned with a League of heroes to defend her Amazon sisters from an outside attack." Hippolyta replied. "I am not that rigid."

Diana considered the implied offer for a moment, then shook her head to dismiss the idea. "Mother, it is kind of you to make that offer, but it is something that I still must refuse. It would be too limiting to live on Themyscira when I have other parts of my life which are now more important."

Hippolyta sprung out of her chair as her daughter uttered what to her appeared to be a sacrilegious thought. "More important than your Amazon sisters?" Hippolyta seethed.

"When Aresia decided to undertake her war of genocide against men, Shayera… Hawkgirl observed that Aresia was only taking our code to its logical conclusion. I did not believe at the time that men served any useful purpose in Man's World other than to propagate the species. Those thoughts were vocalized by a naïve Princess who had never experienced the compassion men demonstrate in Man's World every day. They are fathers, brothers, husbands. Warriors. The list of the good things they accomplish is endless."

"What about rapists? Criminals? Enslavers?" Hippolyta retorted. "Or did you forget so quickly who invaded our shores this morning?"

"There are such men in Man's World, I grant you. They are far from perfect, but they are men to be admired, nevertheless. In fact, a common criminal killed Bruce's parents when he was just a little boy. I admire Bruce because he has chosen to honor their memory by rising above that adversity. He grew up in a world without love, but he vowed to do his utmost to ensure that no other children in that city would suffer the same fate. Now he's expanded that mission to save the world when he can."

"He must have been scarred for life!" Hippolyta reasoned, "Which reinforces my argument that the two of you are completely incompatible."

"Mother, we are so compatible sometimes that it scares me." Diana replied forcefully. "He knows me better than anyone ever has, or ever will for that matter. I have given myself to him fully, without reservation."

Hippolyta raised an eyebrow, realizing her daughter had just admitted to giving the gift of her virginity to this mortal. "I'm not sure I want to hear this." She snapped.

"Mother, if it were just the sexual attraction, it would probably make this situation much easier to dismiss as a lark or an affair. It's so much more than that it amazes me. I wasn't looking for a relationship, but after spending so many years with him, I have a passion for him that I cannot just readily dismiss as mere lust."

"I used to rationalize my attraction to Hades the same way." Hippolyta replied pointedly.

"Hades was a God. Bruce isn't. He's grounded and in turn, that keeps me grounded." Diana argued.

"Do you think that part of the attraction is the darker half of his nature, child? I may have passed on some of my intrigue with brooding men to you. If I did, I truly apologize as giving into that darkness resulted in my eternal shame." Hippolyta stated, a trace of sadness creeping into her voice.

"I've thought about that, believe me. I've come to the realization that he uses the darkness to inspire fear in his enemies, but the man I've come to love has probably the warmest heart of anyone I know. He would sacrifice himself for me, the League, a child in danger in Gotham, anyone. He's willing to give more of himself than anyone I've ever met."

"He dresses as a Bat and he has defiled you!" Hippolyta replied forcefully. "He is not worthy of you. You are the Princess of the Amazons. You are my daughter!"

"Mother, he has never once defiled me. In fact, I pursued him. He spent months thinking up clever reasons why we shouldn't get involved. I finally got fed up with his objections and seduced him last month under the pretense that I wanted him to show me the new additions to the Watchtower Arboretum. I had most of his clothes off before we reached the lawn."

Hippolyta groaned at the thought of her daughter losing her virginity in a climate- controlled forest. She brought her hand to her forehead to massage the headache pounding at her temples. "What about children? Have you thought about what might happen if you two were to have children?"

"We haven't discussed it but it would not be unwelcome. At least not for me." Diana replied truthfully. "In fact, the primary reason I won't consider returning to Themyscira is the lack of children. Do you know how lonely I was growing up without someone my own age to play with? I even felt that way when I was an adult here on the island. All of our sisters treat us reverently, as monarchy, instead of with real friendship. I didn't realize how alone I've felt my whole life until I became his woman. He reached a part of me that I didn't know existed before I was with him. I'm his ally, his friend, his confidant, his lover. All of which I give freely, without reservation."

Hippolyta thought about that for a moment before replying. "I cannot feel guilty for praying for your birth, Diana. You were a blessing from Athena and I still thank her to this day."

"I'm not asking for you to feel guilty, Mother. Rather, I'm suggesting our laws and culture are inherently flawed if they do not allow for children or men. You stated during the eulogy tonight that perhaps there is room to consider changes to our laws. We've required the League's assistance on two separate occasions to avoid oblivion. Have you become so cynical, so jaded in your view of Man's World that you have forgotten both children and men can represent a blessing, if you allow them a chance to try?"

"Are you suggesting that I allow Men on Themyscira?" Hippolyta asked, incredulous at her daughter's suggestion.

"Mother, your opinion of Man's World is callous, cold and bitter. When will you allow yourself to realize that a man is already _here_, unconscious in your daughter's bed, _after_ he risked his life to save your people? Yet he asks for nothing. Please understand the fact there are selfless men in the world. You should also consider this: if you want your grandchildren to visit Themyscira, there had better be some children on the island for them to play with. Besides, almost one third of your Army died today at the hands of the Dorians. Won't you need a new generation of Amazons to replace what you've lost?"

Hippolyta stood up then walked to the doorway. "Too many things have transpired today for me to make a rash decision in that regard. I'm going to bed. Do you want me to have an extra bed turned down for you?"

"I'm staying right here." Diana replied, patting the bed next to Bruce. "It's my rightful place now, regardless of his condition."

"Good night, then, Diana." Hippolyta whispered, a trace of sorrow evident on her face as she contemplated the empowered woman who now stood in the place of her formerly naïve daughter. Shrugging with resignation, Hippolyta turned and walked down the hallway.

"Good night, Mother." Diana replied wearily. Rising from the bed, she walked over to the door, closing it softly before securing the bolt. She stooped to blow out the candle on the wall, then sat back down on the bed. Groaning from the bruises caused by Ares, she untied the laces on her boots, kicking them to the floor a moment later. They clattered to the floor as she untied the breastplate and bodice, as well as her shorts, before she slipped naked under the sheets next to Bruce. She lay back on the pillow, exhausted, then cursed when she realized she'd forgotten to dribble more water into Bruce's mouth. She sat up and reached across him to grab the glass on the table. As she soaked the cloth, she gasped in surprise as a rough, masculine hand settled on her breast.

"Hello, pretty lady," Bruce whispered.

"How long have you been awake?" she replied, tenderly examining his head before she lowered herself to peck him lightly on the lips.

"Long enough to hear you planning our kid's summer vacations with your Mother. Alfred will not be happy."

She eyed him suspiciously. "What else did you hear?"

"I heard the whole conversation, but it was like hearing it in a tunnel. I kept concentrating on the sound of your voice and I finally came out of wherever I was…What hit me?"

"Piece of shrapnel from the cannon. You forgot to duck."

"Remind me never to go on a sabotage mission with Orin. He doesn't follow directions." He snorted derisively, then looked around at their surroundings, "Is this your room?"

"No, my room is at Wayne Manor. This was my room when I was a little girl. ."

Bruce thought about the implication of her statement. "So you want to go official then, tell the League and such?"

"We don't have to issue a press release, but now that my Mother knows, and since Flash can't keep a secret to save his life, the rest of the League already has confirmation of what they've suspected all along. In light of all of that, I would like to make it official, yes."

"You can have half my closet and 5 out of the six shoe-racks. Alfred buys me too many damn shoes as it is."

"Done," she replied, lowering her head on his chest. "I would have settled for less."

The End 


End file.
